"From deeply authentic baroque to wilfully unauthentic Mascagni, Sambuca present four hundred years of music plundered from all over Europe and beyond. Peter Martin performs on guitar, baroque guitar and lute with Michael Copley on recorder, ocarina, flute and other woodwind instruments. Whether classic Handel sonatas, virtuoso Vivaldi concertos, sultry tangos by Piazzolla, exhilarating Albeniz, or lively world music from Bolivia and Macedonia, Sambuca's eclectic range of music has an immediate appeal to audiences from school children to the most serious early music specialists. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"Since their acclaimed debut in 1992, Sirinu have established a reputation at the cutting edge of Early and World music performance. Their first national tour was the most successful in the history of the Early Music Network and they have since undertaken extensive tours all over Europe, as well as British Council tours in Turkey, Egypt and South America. Sirinu have a particular interest in rural South American music and have performed at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall as guests of the Bolivian group Rumillajta.

Sirinu’s innovative programmes offer musical journeys through some of the world’s great cultural melting-pots, with themes including the Spanish invasion of South America, the epic voyage around the world of the Tudor adventurer Francis Drake and the Mexican Day of the Dead. Combining a staggering array of instruments with elements of theatre, ritual and dance, their extrovert performances and meticulous research have won critical acclaim and rapturous receptions from audiences around the world.

The four members of Sirinu – Sara Stowe (soprano/keyboards), Henry Stobart (recorders/wind instruments), Matthew Spring (lutes, early plucked/hurdy-gurdy) and Jon Banks (harp, gittern, percussion) – perform not only on their principal instruments but also, depending on the programme, a great number of less orthodox European and ethnic instruments. As imaginative and natural communicators their performances guarantee a freshness and variety of approach in which they capture the excitement of the most concentrated formative periods of musical history. " Visit website for more information;

“Jonny Sells I founded Solomon's Knot back in 2008. It started off as the Solomon Choir and Orchestra, and was later joined by the smaller-scale Solomon Consort. Now we're fully flexible, and can perform in any configuration we want. My founding inspiration was to get away from all the tired old performances of this repertoire which even the performers bore themselves with. Our vision is of a group of people who perform this wonderful music because they WANT to, and not for any other reason. When not working with Solomon I'm an opera singer based in Zürich.”

"Since its inception in 1982, Sonnerie, formerly Trio Sonnerie, has evolved into one of the most imaginative, flexible and dynamic period instrument ensembles in the country. It is directed from the violin by Monica Huggett, world-renowned for her expressive and impassioned performances.

The group's unusual versatility means it can expand from a trio of violin, viola da gamba and keyboard, into a full chamber orchestra. Recent recordings include the 2002 Gramophone award winning CD of Biber violin sonatas and the Bach Violin Concerti for Sanctury Classics, discs of Handel's Op.2 trio sonatas and organ concertos (Avie) and the Mystery sonatas by Biber (ASV). More details can be found on the discography page.

Sonnerie has performed internationally at all the major festivals and concert halls - recent highlights have included the Cheltenham, Innsbruck, Nordic Baroque, Radlovica (Slovenia), Koethen Bach and Aldeburgh festivals, as well as performances in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, York, Glasgow and at the Wigmore Hall in London. Visit the concerts database for details of future engagements. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"The Squair Mile Consort of Viols, formed in 1992, regularly gives concerts in Edinburgh, Glasgow and further afield in Scotland. It is dedicated to the great music composed for the viola da gamba (viol) from the 16th to the late 17th century - music for between two and seven viols by composers such as William Byrd, John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons, John Jenkins, William Lawes and Henry Purcell, as well as songs for one voice and viols, music for viols and pipe organ and solo music by the French composers Sainte-Colombe and Marin Marais. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

“Historical songs and music of all ears. Anne Marie Summers and Thor Ewing.The name ‘Squeake’s Noyse’ is inspired by the seventeenth-century band ‘Sneake’s Noyse’ that accompanied the first performances of some of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.“

"Stile Antico is an ensemble of young British singers, now established as one of the most original and exciting new voices in its field. Prizewinners at the 2005 Early Music Network International Young Artists’ Competition, the group is much in demand in concert and records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi. Their debut disc Music for Compline drew ecstatic reviews, winning the Diapason d’Or de l'année, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, and attracting a nomination for the 50th GRAMMY awards. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"From lusty dances and drinking songs to the haunted airs of the troubadors, Swyndelstock evokes the turbulent reality of mediaeval life. The band is available both for incidental music and for formal concerts in music and spoken word. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"Like many good stories, the history of Tamburrini began with a happy accident, when guitarist Steve Walter discovered a vihuela - an early Spanish guitar - in his local recorder shop. This find opened up a new repertoire - the music of Renaissance Spain, blending European elegance with the fire of Moorish tradition.

Our interest in the songs of the Spanish Renaissance is two fold. Many of the songs use melodies from the folk tradition with lyrics that are simple, direct and universal. The music also provides enormous scope for improvisation and varied instrumental textures. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

“Founded in London in 2007, Ensemble Tempus Fugit’s earliest projects took place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where they mounted a concert version of Johann Adolf Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra, and chamber performances of London street songs at Bloomsbury’s Goodenough College.

In 2008, the group was selected for the Brighton Early Music Festival’s BREMF Live! project, where they performed their first interdisciplinary project, SHALL WE DANCE?, incorporating players, singers and dancers in a mix of English folk and formal music that could have been heard in the courts and homes of seventeenth-century England. In that same year, the group expanded to form the orchestra for concert and staged versions of Handel’s Acis and Galatea for New European Opera in London, Paris, and Fontevraud, France.

In 2009, Ensemble Tempus Fugit returned to the Brighton Early Music Festival with a revival of SHALL WE DANCE? , and its most ambitious project to date, CALCUTTA: a blend of theatre, puppetry and Baroque and traditional Indian classical music from the eighteenth-century port city. The Calcutta project played to a sold-out audience in Brighton, thanks to the support of the Festival, Arts Council England, and a performance and interview on BBC Radio 3's The Early Music Show.

Ensemble Tempus Fugit was a Finalist in the 2010 Early Keyboard Ensemble Competition at Fenton House, Hampstead, London in June, and played in Baroque-Indian crossover concerts led by Sanjay Guha, sitarist, at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Centre for Indian Culture this past October. The Ensemble is currently developing CALCUTTA for future performances in the UK and in India.”

'Burning Bush offers the original World Music where Europe, Africa and the Orient freely mingle'THE INDEPENDENT

Exhuberance, defiance, celebration and ribald wit all come together o­n the emotional rollercoaster ride that is a Burning Bush performance. Combining foot-tapping klezmer, exotic Arab-influenced dance music from the old Ottoman world and haunting, mystical ballads of the ghetto, The Burning Bush cross cultural boundaries with their uninhibited brio in music both timeless and topical. Featuring the amazing voice and sinuous violin of Lucie Skeaping and the breathtaking, unbridled virtuosity of clarinettist Ben Harlan, this multi-talented sextet presents music that is impossible to resist whatever your background, as audiences from Bogata to rural Wiltshire will confirm. A magical journey into nostalgia, hope and joy.

'An absolute joy - grace, passion and virtuosity' GLASGOW HERALD

'A celebration of Jewish culture - flair and infectious gaiety' THE TIMES

“The City Musick is an ensemble recently formed to explore the lives and repertoires of the Waits, civic musicians who would have been a familiar sight in towns and cities in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. The name is also given to the long-term research project into the waits being undertaken by its director, William Lyons. The City Musick has given several concerts in the UK and abroad, their debut actually being in the USA where they gave a successful series of concerts in 2009 including a performance at the reconstructed Blackfriars Theater in Staunton, Virginia. Most recently the ensemble performed at the Waits symposium organized by William Lyons at the Museum of London, where the ensemble in it’s various manifestations gave recitals of waits music. The members of The City Musick are all seasoned professionals specializing in historical performance, working with other leading period music ensembles and at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London

"One of the outstanding vocal groups in its field, The Clerks' recordings and performances of Renaissance vocal music have earned them a place among the foremost interpreters of the repertoire. The group's discography of over 20 CDs represents a uniquely valuable and pioneering contribution to early music and has won them many accolades, including the coveted Gramophone Award for Early Music.

The Clerks formed at Oxford University and made their professional London debut in 1992. Their first recording, released a year later, made an immediate impact, being identified as one of the releases of the year by the Critics Choice panel of BBC Radio 3, and earning runner-up spot in Gramophone's Early Music Award. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

“The Gonzaga Band was formed by cornettist Jamie Savan in 1997, in order to explore historical approaches to the performance of vocal and instrumental music of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its line-up is flexible, with a small core of musicians that expands on occasion to include other leading vocal and period-instrument specialists according to the specific requirements of each programme.

The ensemble takes its name from the Gonzaga Dukes of Mantua, who were powerful and influential patrons of the arts in the late Renaissance period. The Gonzaga family employed Claudio Monteverdi as their maestro di cappella, and he presided over a musical establishment that was, for a time, the envy of the world. ...

Several members of The Gonzaga Band are active as teachers at universities and music colleges, and regularly give educational workshops for primary and secondary schools. Between 2000 and 2004, The Gonzaga Band worked for Yehudi Menuhin’s ‘Live Music Now’ scheme, delivering numerous concerts and workshops for children and adults with special needs. Since 2005, The Gonzaga Band has hosted the annual Newark International Early Music course for amateur and young professional wind players.

The Gonzaga Band's line up is flexible and varies depending on the requirements of each project. …“

“The Longslade Consort is a small group of musicians dedicated to bringing the highest standards of small consort music to the widest possible audience. Members of the group have performed on local radio, in nineteen Cathedrals, stately homes and numerous Parish Churches. They have also devised many Baroque dinners with 18thC food and music. The group has performed in the Barbican foyer, at the Edinburgh and Glasgow Early Music Festival Fringes and has appeared several times at the International Music Festival at Sidmouth. They make regular appearances at the annual Leicester Castle Park Festival. They are particularly noted for their lighthearted introduction to the World of Early Music.

The Longslade Consort's collection of early musical instruments includes a set of Renaissance recorders, crumhorns, cornamuse, gemshorn, rauschpfeife, rackett, shawm, sordune, spinet, harpsichord, viol da gamba, an assortment of percussion including nakers and timbrel and a vast number of Baroque recorders. Apart from the recorders, most were made by the group's Director, John Bence. The woodwind are mostly based on originals in the Brussels' Collection and the spinet is a copy of an early 18th century original in a private collection.

The group's first CD - "Music from the Mists of Time" is a lighthearted look at the World of Early Music with a wide-ranging selection of instruments from the Consort's collection, coupled with some great pieces from the Baroque, featuring Handel, Scarlatti and Telemann. A second CD, "A Window to the Past," presents a further selection of music from the group's vast repertoire.

"The members of the consort are remarkably versatile and accomplished musicians adept at performing on all manner of early instruments - many of which were made by John Bence, the group’s founder.” Leicester Mercury, August 2007.

"The second half concentrated on the Baroque with works by Vivaldi, Handel and Loeillet, all stylishly played by the Consort. John Bence, the Consort’s founder and director, introduced the music with his customary mixture of wit and erudition.” Leicester Mercury August 2008 - Neil Crutchley

"With informative narration by John Bence, this was an absorbing musical and educational experience. This concert was entertaining, informative, displayed fine musicianship and ably demonstrated some of the Genius of the Baroque composers. " Leicester Mercury 2011.”

"The Parley crosses boundaries, from the recording studio, the concert platform, to the classroom or the humble village hall, the activities of members of the group focus on bringing their knowledge of historical style and techniques to the music they love, and enthusiastically communicating it to other players, and the audience.

Few groups harbour as much expertise in their chosen field. Long experience in the scholarship and performance of 17th and 18th century music are brought together in their specialist areas of string and continuo performance practice. The main focus of The Parley's activities has been in the repertoire of the early violin family, and their knowledge of 17th instrumental and vocal repertoire forms a solid background for the study and historical context of later composers such as J.S. Bach and his contemporaries.

Many years of working together have produced a 'house style' that is consistent and well thought-out through a combination of experimentation with historical techniques and experience. This style is as clearly communicated in the workshop situation as it is from the platform. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"fter twenty-eight years of world-wide performance and recording, The Sixteen is recognised as one of the world’s greatest ensembles. Comprising both choir and period-instrument orchestra, The Sixteen's total commitment to the music it performs is its greatest distinction. Its special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th Century music, is drawn from the passions of conductor and founder, Harry Christophers. " See website for more information. (ed.)

"TRIO GOYA play Classical chamber music on period instruments. Formed out of a collective fascination with the new colours and narratives that these instruments suggest, the group concentrates its repertoire on the trios by Haydn and Mozart and the Beethoven opus 1 set. A fortepiano by Paul McNulty after Anton Walter, Vienna 1795 is the centrepiece of this music and a later instrument can be supplied for Beethoven from opus 70 (including the "Archduke Trio") and Schubert. Programmes can also include the three fine trios by Mozart's friend, the English stage composer Stephen Storace, Mozart's two dramatic fortepiano quartets and solo works for each of the three instruments by the aforementioned composers as well as their lesser known contemporaries. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"Trouvère bring medieval merriment to events of all kinds all around the country with a mix of performance and hands-on experience of medieval music-making.

Our medieval merriment show features a costumed band of medieval minstrels presenting songs, music, storytelling and dance. We regularly appear at castles and historic sites around the country, and at a wide variety of private and corporate functions. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"Wyldes Noyse is a group of two or three musicians drawn from King's Lynn Waites. Consisting of Chief Waite Chris Gutteridge, wind and string player Elizabeth Gutteridge, and other members of the Waites if required, the group is named after William Wylde, King's Lynn minstrel, and one of the first recorded Waites in the country. The group wears Renaissance dress and performs on a variety of early instruments as well as singing.

Wyldes Noyse is the ideal group for fêtes, garden parties, dinners, weddings, etc. where a smaller group is desired, or in a more intimate setting. The group has an extensive memorised repertoire and can play from a balcony or gallery, or in the corner of a room, or will roam about freely, playing as they go. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"The Knoxville Early Music Project (KEMP), founded in 1991, is an ensemble devoted to performing Renaissance and Baroque music. The group's performances feature music from Italian monody and solo cantatas to English, Irish, and Scottish folk and art music. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

"Hailed as one of the most exciting period instrument ensembles on the New York scene, SYMPATICA has presented a dozen concerts over the last 18 months, to great critical acclaim. The ensemble comprises three exceptionally gifted musicians (Rachel Begley, recorders, Joëlle Morton, viola da gamba and Jennifer Griesbach, harpsichord), each an accomplished virtuosa in her own right. Sympatica's inventive programming draws on the standard repertoire as well as being dedicated to exploring contemporary music and adapting lesser-known music to the trio sonata medium. The ensemble's name (taken from the Italian term simpatia , meaning 'pleasantness') is reflective of the infectious chemistry and camaraderie that is evident among the group's members, and the delight with which its audiences receive the ensemble's whimsical and spirited performances. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

“ Agave Baroque is a period instrument ensemble dedicated to the diverse and compelling repertoire of the seventeenth Century. Founded in 2007, Agave Baroque delivers expressive, thoughtful interpretations colored with imagination, wit, and humor. In 2009, Agave Baroque was chosen through a competitive application process to represent Early Music America at the APAP Conference in New York City, where they performed twice. Members of this engaging young ensemble also perform with some of the nation's leading baroque orchestras and ensembles, including Philharmonica Baroque, American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica, and Ensemble Mirable, as well as the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale.“

"Albuquerque Baroque Players was formed in the summer of 1997 by six Albuquerque musicians who found that they had in common a desire to play Baroque music on the instruments of the period. They held a common belief that such performances would offer a greater understanding and depth of expression to music written over 250 years ago. After two years of infrequent performances, ABP was reborn with the current four members and has been performing a regular series of concerts at Los Altos Christian Church and the Historic Old San Ysidro Church in Corrales, along with appearances at the Cathedral Church of St. John, the Albuquerque Museum, and the Albuquerque Public Library. To date, ABP has been financial assisted by New Mexico Arts, the City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund , the Garcia Automotive Group, Van Dyke Software and the Walter A. Brooks & Marilyn Gulley Brooks Foundation, as well as many private sponsors. " See website for more details. (ed.)